This week on TV: Shaheen, allies double Brown and his backers’ ad spending

As some recent polls have shown Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown has caught up to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, she and her allies have beefed up their television advertising buys.

Other new polls have Shaheen ahead. A New England College poll tonight for NH 1 found Shaheen ahead 51 to 40 percent, while a Rasmussen poll on Monday had her up by 6 percentage points. For other recent polls, see our Monday report.

During the current week, Shaheen and outside groups supporting her are doubling the TV spending of Brown and outside groups supporting him — $839,990 to $414,095, according to a GOP source tracking media buys. These numbers are of course expected to fluctuate from week to week as the election nears, but the current figures have caused some alarm in pro-Brown circles.

This week, the only outside group advertising on behalf of Brown is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is spending $114,095.

Outside groups helping Shaheen this week are the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is spending $115,650, and Harry Reid’s Senate Majority PAC, which is spending $310,480.

The Shaheen campaign’s spending for television for the week is $102,185 on broadcast television, $71,675 on cable and an estimated $240,000 on Boston television, for a total of $413,860.

The Brown campaign’s TV budget for the week is a total of $300,000.

Despite the new polls showing Shaheen ahead, a Brown adviser said, “New Hampshire is a dead heat. The Democrats are pouring everything they have into this race to save Shaheen’s sinking campaign. Shaheen is scared because she knows that Scott Brown can win.” The adviser said he hopes Republicans “become fully invested” in the race.